The sons are the ones running it; the landlady actually lives in the house but the sons are the ones running the business side of things; we're given their number to call if there's a problem. I'm not actually entirely sure *where* she lives in the house; process of elimination suggests it's the basement somewhere. The phone call was largely because I never actually see any of them.

Heat seems to be on for now and I did go out and buy a blanket just because there are levels of cold I *can't* live with. Now we'll see if it stays on. I'm only here for another month (it's a very short internship), so finding another place to live would be kind of challenging since the residential hotels of San Francisco go beyond cold into actively dangerous.

I also have Raynaud's and it can be hard to get your hands warm once they get cold. It's like wrapping an ice cube in layers of insulation: it only keeps the cold in and does nothing to solve the problem. Really I find the easiest solution to get my hands warm is the basic old hot water bottle. Heaters and blankets don't provide concentrated enough heat for me to be effective and my whole body is sweltering before the circulation returns to my hands. With the hot water bottle you can really wrap it around your fingers where you need it most. Those hot pockets don't work as they're too hot to start out with and cool off too fast. Plus they're fidgety, while the hot water bottle you just dump the water and get new from the tap.

The sons are the ones running it; the landlady actually lives in the house but the sons are the ones running the business side of things; we're given their number to call if there's a problem. I'm not actually entirely sure *where* she lives in the house; process of elimination suggests it's the basement somewhere. The phone call was largely because I never actually see any of them.

Heat seems to be on for now and I did go out and buy a blanket just because there are levels of cold I *can't* live with. Now we'll see if it stays on. I'm only here for another month (it's a very short internship), so finding another place to live would be kind of challenging since the residential hotels of San Francisco go beyond cold into actively dangerous.

hmmm. This must be a very large house.

Well, since it's only another month it would be more hassle to find another place and move. So, hope it's tolerable for the remainder of your stay.

Chivewarrior, based on your description, I thought you might be in SF -- let me just say that I recognize completely the kind of family you are dealing with, and you have my sympathies. It has been colder here the past two weeks than I can recall in my nearly 10 years of living here, so part of it is that people just aren't used to it and don't know what to do. But your landlord family is being out and out cheap. It is utterly ridiculous for someone to expect you to wear slippers or heavy clothing -- it is almost always 65 degrees here, so that kind of winter clothing is not something most of us have.

If you can stick out for another month, that might work, particularly since it is supposed to get back closer to normal later this week. If you do need other options, you might also try Craigslist or some of the local colleges (USF, Hastings, UCSF, SF State and City College). No idea if they have resources available for non-students, but I had luck when I was in grad school with an apartment swap with a student at another school. Best of luck to you!

I'm not sure that asking would be helpful for dealing with a landlord who leaves the temperature set at unlivable levels. To my mind, that indicates that they are deliberately skimping on heating costs, to the detriment of their tenants. However, I suppose that the best approach is to start off by acting as if you assume it's been done by accident or inattention, rather than assume the worst motivation first. Just have a next step planned, when they claim that 50 F is a perfectly acceptable living temperature.

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My cousin's memoir of love and loneliness while raising a child with multiple disabilities will be out on Amazon soon! Know the Night, by Maria Mutch, has been called "full of hope, light, and companionship for surviving the small hours of the night."

I just did a temperature conversion, since I'm not familiar with Fahrenheit. 50 degree F is equivalent to only 10 degrees Celsius!

I'm with Twik and Audrey Quest. Surely the landlady must realise how cold it is. It does sound like they're deliberately skimping on their heating costs. I'd definitely tell them that it's not possible to function properly when it's that cold. If they refuse to do anything about it, I guess you're a bit stuck. But you should definitely leave a negative review on the website.

I am apparently out of luck. My hostess turns the heat off at night because she doesnt like the sound it makes!

Well, I have an electric heater on in my room all night long pretty much. I dont like the sound it makes but i woukd rather not freeze!

Using the bathroom is still kind of an issue but she agreed to let me use her bathroom at night as it is just outside my bedroom door, so at least I dont have to walk through the cold house to get to mine. And hers might be just a bit warmer because it has only one outside all instead of two.

If it's really a noise issue, would she be willing to turn the heat up for an hour or two before bedtime, so the house will take longer to cool down?

Separate from that, this definitely belongs in a review on the Airbnb site: "The house gets cold at night, and host refuses to leave the heat on when asked, because she doesn't like the sound it makes. Blankets are much too thin, especially for a room that gets down to 50F/10C on winter nights."

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Any advice that requires the use of a time machine may safely be ignored.